Thread: December

Nice color combinations

Have you considered putting an eye on the spinner blade?

Nice job, as usual, Paul. I like color-correlation w/head and body = dark uppers and lighter lowers.

This one turns into this one.



And this one



Into this one




Using too much material, but can’t stop myself.




I might try adding eyes to my spinner blades but they are already smallest size at 00.

Very nice profiles

Had to make up some more heads. I mentioned attaching eyes using BSI epoxy. Stands for Bob Smith Industries. Recommended by Dr Nip, and now I second the stuff.




Very easy to mix. Squirt a gob of RESIN on some plastic, then match that squirt in size with the HARDENER. Easier than I imagined. I squirted two blobs about the size of a jig head, then mixed them together for a few seconds, and I had plenty of time to do over 30 jigs, both eyes.

My technique works well. After mixing, I clip a two inch section of pipe cleaner to use. Then I swirl the end in the epoxy and get it goobered up pretty good. Then use it like a brush and cover the side of the head. After doing all of them, I go back and use it to try to wipe/scrape away the epoxy. This leaves a thin coating on each jig head. Perfect amount and spread evenly over the entire side of the head.

Add eyes and then use an Exacto blade to position the eyes correctly. By now the epoxy has some sticky to it and the eyes will move, but tend to stay where you leave them. No pond of adhesive underneath for the eye to float to one side. This makes it nice.

Then wait a day and the eyes do not need an overcoating. No resin overcoat means the eyes are not being dulled in any way. Bright as they came to you. Really sweet finish, too. Epoxy dries clear and is rated as waterproof. The slower setting epoxies hold more than quick setting. This is a 30 minute epoxy and that is about right if you do jigs by the dozens. More adhesive power than needed, but the material is pleasant to work with.

I have tried all manner of eyes and ways of setting them. If you do 3D eyes get this stuff.




While I am busy with jig heads, I am taking a break from tying.



The heads I am making are 1/8th ounce with the barb and collar, but I am making without, so the final weight is 1/10th ounce. I set twenty of them on a scale and they weighed 2 ounces, so right on at 1/10 th ounce. The head is a 1/8th ounce size though. Allows a large eye or lots of color from paint. I am thinking it will help my jigs swim better. I can match depth of the 1/16th ounce jigs just by shortening the amount of line out the back.

Painting schemes have varied wildly as per my usual. I am into color combinations now.

White with a pink highlight
White with a bright yellow highlight
White with a blue highlight
Yellow with a green highlight
Yellow with an orange highlight

From there I can use the painted head to enhance the colors I am choosing for the tail and body. Gonna do some that are just plain lead head dipped in clear with sparkles to mimic a minnow’s coloration. Looks nice when I do this and use an oversize eye and then natural colors.

I hear those who fish plain jig heads brag about how wonderfully well that works. That colors are needless. For catching fishermen. Well as I like to say a plain lead jig head does in fact have a color. It is grey. So all them fellers like fishing with grey jig heads.

Now think about this for a minute here. This concerns you. How can the color of the head not play a role ? Color of the tail does. Color of the body. Fact is there are lots of aspects to a lure that should be considered. Yes, eyes, too.

The lures I am making lately can utilize six colors. Features for the fish to see that scream out -Hey I taste like chicken. I even add a spinning blade to some, making even more things for the fish to see. Now he gets vibration, flash and sound.

I am dragging ten lines out the back. Room for more rods I suppose. Seems to make sense to troll more lines rather than fewer. So having a nice selection of diverse lures to choose from is probably a better idea than using plain lead jig heads. Truth is we may never know what makes these fish hit our lures. Catching all the fish on blue today means squat really. Tomorrow they may want pink, or grey.

My idea is to present a lure that looks to be something they have eaten many times. It doesn’t have to be a perfect representation, just similar enough to trigger. Using bright colors works against me in this regard, but underwater things look differently. Size and shape are probably how these fish distinguish the natural baits they take. Sound and smell as well. My lakes are stacked with shad, We have bull headed minnows and they are very popular as well. Matching those two profiles, keeping the lure within reason size wise, should not take me too much longer. I am interested in trying - plastic/hand tie- hybrids, too.

I appreciate the comments and tonight all my gifts are ready and Bing is singing White Christmas. I love the piano song- Linus and Lucy. May the troubles others wish to lay on me miss by a mile. Last year we were lean as I had just lost my job. I am making it up to her this year. We do have one wish…..that we can give Mom her dog back. LOL.

Here she is hanging under the tree.



The Queen of the Pee Pad……JUST barely missed. LOL

Merry Christmas and a very Prosperous New Year

Nice recommendation/explanation on using your new fav BSI, Paul...definitely looks like the "EYES" have it!! Merry Christmas/Happy, Prosperous NEW YEAR to you both.